Deal due out ‘any minute’

The negotiators are due out any minute with a piece of paper (or 24 pieces of paper by some reckoning) in their hands.

If the Lib Dems sign off on the deal in decent time (can’t help thinking this is an extra bit of pressure on them) we’re told that Gordon Brown stands ready to go to the Palace tonight.

But the Lib Dems have just put back the MPs and Federal Executive meeting to 8.30 … which must make it less likely that No. 10 will ask the Queen to stay up late and wait for 2 audiences, with the departing Prime Minister and his replacement.

They tend to take 15-20 minutes from memory and HMQ might be wanting to turn out the lights.

So we have spin about the population voting for a hung parliament (how?) and outcry for PR. Then outrage when FPTP produces a hung parliament and the sort of negotiations that PR requires. Finally we are told that we need PR in order to allow other parties have a look in and we end up with only 2 instead of 3 main political parties…. talk about the imperative to get back to ideology so that some of this madness gets put back in the box!